This article proposes a reflection on the selective mutism and traces a possible path of psy-chotherapeutic intervention, consistent with the principles of Gestalt psychotherapy. The work takes its cue from the experience of the muteness of a five-year-old child and his relational, family and school context. After a brief diagnostic profile and the description of some typical communicative-relational modalities, a few hints on the toughts elaborated by the main psychotherapeutic approaches follow, and on the multiple variables (biological, psychological and relational) that seem to be involved in a multifactorial etiological model. Then some theoretical-methodological frames are suggested, aimed to guide the therapeutic project: - Selective mutism is understood as part of a phenomenological-relational "field"; - The symptoms are seen in the holistic dimension of the bodily experience and in their regula-tory and adaptive function; - Finally, reference is made to the contact process to underline the ways in which the mutism is expressed in the reciprocity of an interaction; we highlight the dysfunctional aspects and especially the resources in the experience of the child and the caregiver. The trace for the psychotherapeutic project is divided into three parts:
- The intervention with family members, with a starting point for a phenomenological observa-tion of the reciprocity between child and parent (we refer to the model of "dance steps", developed by the Institute of Gestalt HCC Italy) and a nod to some themes present in the family with selective mutism; - The second area of the intervention proposes some indications on the therapeutic relationship with the child, suggesting a particular attention to the intersubjective dimension (which en-hances the therapist’s resonance skills through an aesthetic relational knowledge) and to the child’s ability to attune and synchronize; - Finally, some topics that can accompany the experience of the child with selective mutism at school are presented, and some guide lines for a collaboration between psychotherapist and teachers are suggested.Keywords: Selective mutism, freezing, aesthetic relational knowledge, phenomenological ob-servation of the relationship.